Crabtree continues crash course

SANTA CLARA — While his new teammates were scattering Wednesday as if it were the last day of school, Michael Crabtree was not going anywhere.

He still has plenty to learn in the 49ers' classroom.

Crabtree will continue his crash course in the 49ers' offense through the weekend, as he prepares for his first NFL test. The rookie wide receiver will make his professional debut after the bye week — Oct. 25 against the Houston Texans, 49ers coach Mike Singletary said Wednesday.

“I'll be working and trying to get better every day,” said Crabtree in his first public comments since the press conference in which the 49ers announced he had signed a six-year contract to conclude a tumultuous 71-day contract stalemate.

“It's a process and I feel like I got good teammates helping me do what I need to do to get my job done.”

Backup Alex Smith, the only 49ers quarterback who lives year-round in the Bay Area, volunteered to throw passes today to Crabtree, the No. 10 overall pick in the draft. Running back Frank Gore said he will also lend assistance to Crabtree while getting daily treatment on his right ankle.

“My wife is busy during the day anyway, so I can come and get in a workout,” Smith said. “It's nice for a receiver to see things from a quarterback's perspective and know what we're thinking and what we're looking at and what we're trying to accomplish with the plays.”

Singletary said Crabtree will spend time over the weekend with receivers coach Jerry Sullivan, as well as Wendell Davis, a former teammate of Singletary with the Chicago Bears. Davis, who spent training camp with the 49ers as part of the Bill Walsh Minority Coaching Fellowship, will provide personal hands-on instruction for Crabtree.

“Every day he gets out here and every rep that he takes, makes him just that much better,” Singletary said. “He's been studying his tail off, and it shows out here. He doesn't have a whole lot of questions on the field. He's running the right routes and doing the right things. It's just a matter of taking every step with every second, every minute, to get him up to speed.”

Crabtree spent his first week of practice with the 49ers running plays on the scout team, which mimics the opposition's offense. He watched the 49ers' 45-10 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday from the Candlestick Park sideline.

“Oh, yeah, I wanted to be out there. It's hard to watch a game from the sideline when you're part of an organization,” he said. “(But) I was happy to be there and see how things go before I got on the field.”

He said he was able to gauge the speed of the game from his up-close experience.

“Speed of the game is hard for somebody who doesn't know what they're doing,” Crabtree said. “The coaches are doing a good job of catching me up on the speed of the game, and knowing what plays I need to know, and I feel like everything is going good.”

Crabtree said he is confident he can step onto the field and contribute even after missing all of training camp and the first five games of the regular season.

“I had two-a-days for a month straight in the Tampa heat,” he said. “I was just going straight ahead trying to accomplish what my goals were: to get better, get faster, get stronger. And everything's worked out.”

EXTRA POINTS

Linebacker Jeff Ulbrich and safety Michael Lewis sat out practice after experiencing recent concussions. Ulbrich's situation appears to be the most serious. Both players were scheduled to undergo further tests Wednesday.

Singletary said Lewis' concussion symptoms cleared quickly on Sunday. He has experienced three concussions since mid-August, so the 49ers are taking no chances, Singletary said.

“(Lewis) was ready to go,” Singletary said. “He could've played. Twenty years ago he would've been smelling smelling salts and been back in the game. But that wasn't the case.”

Smith took his first snaps with the 49ers' offense since training camp, as starting quarterback Shaun Hill was held out of practice due to soreness, Singletary said.

For more on the 49ers, go to Instant 49ers at blog.pressdemocrat.com/49ers. You can reach Staff Writer Matt Maiocco at matt.maiocco@

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